Maryland Regulating Your Suburban Lawn Fertilization

The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) sent out a news release announcing that the winter blackout date for lawn fertilization, November 15 was upon us and reminding lawn professionals and homeowners not to apply fertilizer to their lawns until March 1. So, in case you were planning on fertilizing your lawn this weekend, don't.

In order to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay and meet the nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) reductions mandated by the U.S. EPA, Maryland passed their lawn fertilizer law in 2011 and it took effect October 1, 2013. Maryland's lawn fertilizer law is intended to help protect the Chesapeake Bay from excess nutrients entering its waters from a variety of urban an suburban sources, including golf courses, parks, recreation areas, businesses and hundreds of thousands of lawns. This law extends to homeowners. Homeowners and do-it-yourselfers are required to obey fertilizer application restrictions, use best management practices when applying fertilizer, observe fertilizer blackout dates and follow University of Maryland recommendations when fertilizing lawns. Did you know that?

A county, municipality or the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) may choose to enforce these requirements for homeowners. This is a civil violation, not criminal. Violators are subject to civil penalties of up to $1,000 for the first violation and $2,000 for each subsequent violation if the law is enforced. It is unlikely that the typical homeowner is familiar with the requirements of the law or how the county, municipality or the MDA would be aware of the violations. For example did you apply fertilizer on a day when rain was predicted? Did you run your fertilizer spreader across your front walk when spreading fertilizer. In case you have no clue what the requirements are:

• A single fertilizer application may not exceed 0.9 pound total nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft which can include no more than 0.7 pound of soluble nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft.
• Visit extension.umd.edu/hgic for seasonal and yearly nitrogen recommendations.
• Phosphorus may only be applied when a soil test indicates that it is needed or when a lawn is being established, patched or renovated.
• Fertilizer may not be used to de-ice walkways and driveways.
• It is against the law to apply fertilizer to sidewalks or other impervious surfaces. Fertilizer that lands on these surfaces must be swept back onto the grass or cleaned up. 
• No fertilizer applications within 10 to 15 feet of waterways. 
• Do not fertilize lawns if heavy rain is predicted or the ground is frozen.
• Do not apply lawn fertilizer between November 15 and March 1. 
• Enhanced efficiency controlled release products may be applied at no more than 2.5 pounds per year, with a maximum monthly release rate of 0.7 pound of N per 1,000 sq ft.

Got that? The rule of law is what governs our way of life and safeguards our freedom. A society with too many laws unevenly enforced encourages lawlessness because no one has respect for the law anymore. There are some carve outs for lawn professionals and for phosphorus application with soil testing and weather conditions, but really just don’t fertilize your lawn in the winter. Put up holiday decorations, trim your bushes or do something else.

According to the University of Maryland Extension, fertilizer sold for suburban lawns accounts for approximately 44% of all fertilizer sold in Maryland. Turf grasses are ubiquitous in the suburban and urban landscape of the Washington Metropolitan Area and the rest of the United States. There are various types of environmental impacts from lawns, especially on water resources. We do tend to over fertilize and should not, but regulating homeowners with vague and inconsistent enforcement does not seem quite fair.